Stan Fischler - Behind the Net: 106 Incredible Hockey Stories

Copyright 2013, 2016 by Stan Fischler

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Sports Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

Sports Publishing books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Sports Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or .

Sports Publishing is a registered trademark of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., a Delaware corporation.

Visit our website at www.sportspubbooks.com.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Brian Peterson

Front cover photos: AP Images

ISBN: 978-1-61321-953-9

ebook ISBN: 978-1-61321-962-1

Printed in the United States of America

Contents

A ny book that lists 101 incredible feats in any sportlet alone hockeyis a feat in itself and that explains why the author has a bushel of thanks to go around.

For starters Im indebted to several interns who did scrupulous and often tiresome research to extract such facts as Fern Gauthiers inability to shoot the puck in the ocean, not to mention discovering which hockey team really was Uncle Sams greatestthe (Baltimore) Coast Guard Cutters, circa 1942-1944.

Thus, in alphabetical order I do a deep bow of appreciation to my all-star cast of Allyson Gronowitz, Michael Rappaport, and Jordan Schoem who not only manned the barricadesthat is, my officeduring the lengthy NHL lockout of 2012-2013 but unearthed gem after nifty gem that guarantees that this will be a first-class read. Without their firm support, finishing the book would truly have been an incredible feat.

Others who pitched in with their expertise include Dan Friedman, Alec Kessler, Jared Lane, Michael Leboff, Bill Martin, Brian McCormack, and Dan Ronayne, who delivered a remarkably timely assist when it counted most.

Instead of 101 incredible feats there would be a grand total of none had it not been for the creativity of our worthy editors at Skyhorse, led by the indefatigable Julie Ganz.

Were it not for their idea, The Maven would have been left to ice the puck or, in this case, the book.

I deeply appreciate their involvement from beginning to publication.

Not to be overlooked is The Hockey Maven-ess in our house, my dear wife, Shirley, whoif truth be toldknows a lot more hockey than I do; except that she never saw either Fern Gauthier nor the Coast Guard Cutters play.

You get the point; Im grateful, appreciative, and indebted to you all.

Hockey is a slippery game its played on ice.

Emile (The Cat) Francis,
former general manager, New York Rangers

T he Catwho did enjoy nine lives as an NHL goaltender and executiveknew whereof he spoke.

Hockey on the NHL level remains the most artistic, violent, and passionate of all the major sports.

And the most zany.

Think about it for a moment; the players are performing on artificial feet (skates), on an artificial surface (ice) with artificial arms (sticks), and a funny, little, hard, black biscuit called a puck, hockeys version of a hand grenade.

In such circumstances, it shouldnt be a surprise that with all the craziness that erupts over three, twenty-minute periods, fights break out as well. Some of the bouts such as the fifteen-minute classic between Johnny (Maroosh) Mariucci of the Chicago Blackhawks and Black Jack Stewart of the Detroit Red Wings have been more remarkableand bloodythan goals scored.

Having watched hockey games on all levels of competition since 1939my first live game was at Madison Square Garden when I was seven years oldI can safely say that Ive witnessed some of the most incredible feats of all.

Some have been hilarious such as the episode when a slumping Detroit player named Fern Gauthier had to prove that he could shoot the puck into the ocean off a Manhattan pier by actually doing so.

Some feats are incredible in other ways.

For example, I was there the night that Chicago Blackhawks winger Bill (Wee Willie) Mosienko scored three goals in twenty-one seconds. Now theres an accomplishment that never, ever, will be duplicated. As a matter of fact, now that I think about it, I still cant believe that it actually happened. But it did, and Rangers goalie Lorne Anderson was an unfortunate witnessand victim.

Speaking of unusual exploits, I also watched from the Madison Square Garden press box the night an Andy Bathgate backhand shot caught unmasked Montreal goalie Jacques Plante smack in the face. Bleeding profusely, Plante was helped from the ice and stitched up by the team doctor. When Plante returned, he was wearing a face mask; a device unheard of in those days of the six-team league NHL.

Plante was the first to do so and eventually every goaltender donned a shield to protect his good looks; or what was left of them.

Some, such as Hall of Famer Glenn Hall of the Blackhawks, resisted. But Hall would freely admit that goaltending without a mask was Sixty minutes of hell. Before retiring as a member of the St. Louis Blues, Hall finally relented and donned the covering. Safer it was, but it bothered Mister Goalie so much that he decided to call it a career.

As you can tell by now, I sure enjoy covering the hockey scene and among my many reasons for staying with the game is the likelihood of yet another unlikely development to take place onor offthe ice.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy my choice of 106 incredible hockey feats.

Stan Fischler, New York, January 2013

I

Hockey History

I t seems like a cushion that any team would love to have, but through the years a three-goal advantage occasionally has turned into a disaster for clubs up by a trio of red lights. To some press box wags, it has become known as the dreaded three-goal lead.

But never in Stanley Cup playoff history has a calamitous collapse occurred like the one that befell the Toronto Maple Leafs on the night of May 13, 2013, at Bostons TD Garden in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal serieswinner-take-all.

Coached by Randy Carlyle, the Leafs led Boston 4-1 and appeared on the way to winning its first Stanley Cup Playoff series since 2004. There were less than eleven minutes separating the host Bruins from a humiliating upset or, as Boston coach Claude Julien put it, they were on the ropes.

Toronto goalie James Reimera star for the visitorsappeared to have the situation well in hand as the overhead clock ticked toward the 9:10 mark of the third period. Anticipating almost certain defeat for their beloved Beantowners, scores of fans left their seats, heading for the exits. Suddenly, a few stopped in their tracks when the Bruins mounted a concerted attack, which culminated with Nathan Horton scoring at 9:18 of the period. It was 4-2 for the Leafs, who then went into a defensive shell, hoping to run out the clock.